COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, DO NOT REPRODUCE

Healthcare Industry Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, Says FBI Report

By Gabriel Perna

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued a warning to healthcare organizations that their IT systems and medical devices were at risk for increased attacks from hackers due to lax cybersecurity standards and practices.

The memo was passed along earlier this month as a "Private Industry Notification," (PIN). It said that due to the mandatory transition from paper records to EHRs, lax security standards, and a higher payout for medical records in the black market, healthcare systems and medical devices have created a more open environment for cyber criminals to exploit.

"The healthcare industry is not as resilient to cyber intrusions compared to the financial and retail sectors, therefore the possibility of increased cyber intrusions is likely," the FBI wrote in the PIN. The memo was leaked by Reuters.